Working With Americans

Finalist in the Business Management and Leadership Category of the International Book Awards 2021 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In this new, extensively updated second edition, authors Allyson Stewart-Allen and Lanie Denslow accurately capture the current US business environment and its changes since their best-selling 1st edition published in 2002. You’ll find even more insights into the American business mindset, diversity and regions building on the acclaimed first edition so you can confidently negotiate, communicate and influence in the world’s largest, most profitable and complex marketplace. Alongside their examination of the impact of 5 generations in today’s US workforce, the authors explore the complex issues faced by American bosses including: levels of transparency expected of organizations in how they do business, ranging from ethics of their supply chain, to the treatment of employees via social media, equal pay expectations or the personal views of their executives on environmental, social, governance or political events ever declining workforce loyalty resulting from perceived job insecurity younger employees’ quest for visibility, interesting projects and rapid promotion consumer and customer expectations as standard for extensive personalization and customization of products and services Anybody who has ever done business with Americans can testify that there are more differences than similarities between the US business culture and those in the rest of the world. Whether it’s values, etiquette, communication, influencing or negotiating, there’s a clear American style. How you go about building successful and profitable business relationships in the US should be guided by the many important lessons and insights offered in this essential reference guide. Whether new to working with Americans or an experienced internationalist, this book will serve as your ready reference for connecting with US colleagues, clients, customers or consultants.

Anybody who has ever done business with Americans can testify that there are more differences than similarities between Americans and most business cultures in the rest of the world. There are differences in cultures, values, etiquette and even ÔcommonÕ business language Ð which is quite often, well, uncommon. When it comes to building relationships and doing business deals with Americans, understanding and appreciating these behaviors, culture and business manners is vital to success. Everybody wants to work with people they relate to, who they believe they can trust -- and ultimately who Ôspeak my languageÕ. Working with Americans not only illuminates why Americans think and operate as they do, but also shows what you can do to play to your US colleaguesÕ preferences and business practices. This is the guide to understanding Americans in business, their culture and thinking which will make you a more informed and confident manager and envoy. With confidence enhanced, you can be more relaxed, have fun, and focus on building lasting, profitable relationships.

Doing business in the US is challenging and exciting. The size, wealth, and diversity of the American market is hard to beat. But when it comes to business culture, too many Danes assume that the US is just like Denmark - only bigger. This can be the first of many expensive mistakes. Find out: ◦ What to expect in meetings and negotiations with Americans ◦ How to make small talk with US colleagues - and which topics to avoid ◦ What Americans really want from a manager ◦ Why your US customers expect you to be available all the time ◦ How to speak American-sounding English and avoid errors ◦ Why Americans love exclamation points! Learn more about the cultural differences between Denmark and the USA, at work and outside of work, in this easy-to-read, light-hearted book.

The Great Recession brought rising inequality and changing family economies. New technologies continued to move jobs overseas, including those held by middle-class information workers. The first new edition to capture these historic changes, this book is the leading text in the sociology of work and related research fields. Wharton s readings retain the classics but offer a new spectrum of articles accessible to undergraduate students that focus on the changes that will most affect their lives.New to the fourth edition"

This little, easy-to-read book will help Americans understand their Danish colleagues better. It is a companion volume to the author’s previous book, “Working with Americans: Tips for Danes.” If you’re an American who is about to do business in Denmark or with Danes, the Danish colleagues you will meet probably know a lot more about your country than you do about theirs. In fact, Americans often hear descriptions of Denmark that are not entirely correct. It is neither a socialist hellhole or a socialist paradise; instead, it’s a capitalist social welfare state, where voters have agreed to be taxed very highly in return for universal health care and tuition-free universities. Having the social welfare state as a backup influences the way Danes act in the workplace. Subordinates aren’t as dependent on their bosses as they are in some other cultures, so lower-level employees won’t perform a task just because the boss says so. Instead, they expect to be allowed to influence the assignment based on their own expertise, and carry it out independently without a lot of micromanagement. They may also jump over several levels of hierarchy to tell the top boss how they think the organization could operate more efficiently. One of the major differences between Danish business culture and US business culture is that Danes don’t need the kind of positive reinforcement that is common in the US. From their point of view, someone doing a job correctly requires no applause; comments are only necessary when something goes wrong. This can make Danes seem grumpy and negative to their American colleagues. This book will give you important insights into Danish business culture and Danish business etiquette and help you improve your interaction with your colleagues and counterparts in Denmark.

America confronts a jobs crisis that has two faces. The first is obvious when we read the newspapers or talk with our friends and neighbors: there are simply not enough jobs to go around. The second jobs crisis is more subtle but no less serious: far too many jobs fall below the standard that most Americans would consider decent work. A quarter of working adults are trapped in jobs that do not provide living wages, health insurance, or much hope of upward mobility. The problem spans all races and ethnic groups and includes both native-born Americans and immigrants. But Good Jobs America provides examples from industries ranging from food services and retail to manufacturing and hospitals to demonstrate that bad jobs can be made into good ones. Paul Osterman and Beth Shulman make a rigorous argument that by enacting policies to help employers improve job quality we can create better jobs, and futures, for all workers. Good Jobs America dispels several myths about low-wage work and job quality. The book demonstrates that mobility out of the low-wage market is a chimera—far too many adults remain trapped in poor-quality jobs. Osterman and Shulman show that while education and training are important, policies aimed at improving earnings equality are essential to lifting workers out of poverty. The book also demolishes the myth that such policies would slow economic growth. The experiences of countries such as France, Germany, and the Netherlands, show that it is possible to mandate higher job standards while remaining competitive in international markets. Good Jobs America shows that both government and the firms that hire low-wage workers have important roles to play in improving the quality of low-wage jobs. Enforcement agencies might bolster the effectiveness of existing regulations by exerting pressure on parent companies, enabling effects to trickle down to the subsidiaries and sub-contractors where low-wage jobs are located. States like New York have already demonstrated that involving community and advocacy groups—such as immigrant rights organizations, social services agencies, and unions—in the enforcement process helps decrease workplace violations. And since better jobs reduce turnover and improve performance, career ladder programs within firms help create positions employees can aspire to. But in order for ladder programs to work, firms must also provide higher rungs—the career advancement opportunities workers need to get ahead. Low-wage employment occupies a significant share of the American labor market, but most of these jobs offer little and lead nowhere. Good Jobs America reappraises what we know about job quality and low-wage employment and makes a powerful argument for our obligation to help the most vulnerable workers. A core principle of U.S. society is that good jobs be made accessible to all. This book proposes that such a goal is possible if we are committed to realizing it.

The purpose of this book is to help the reader to better understand American values, expectations, and behaviours in business activities and to help them to develop practical strategies for being successful in working with Americans.

Ten leading scholars of early American social history here examine the nature of work and labor in America from 1614 to 1820. The authors scrutinize work diaries, private and public records, and travelers' accounts. Subjects include farmers, farmwives, urban laborers, plantation slave workers, midwives, and sailors; locales range from Maine to the Caribbean and the high seas. These essays recover the regimen that consumed the waking hours of most adults in the New World, defined their economic lives, and shaped their larger existence. Focusing on individuals as well as groups, the authors emphasize the choices that, over time, might lead to prosperity or to the poorhouse. Few people enjoyed sinecures, and every day brought new risks. Stephen Innes introduces the collection by elucidating the prophetic vision of Captain John Smith: that the New World offered abundant reward for one's "owne industrie." Several motifs stand out in the essays. Family labor has begun to assume greater prominence, both as a collective work unit and as a collective economic unit whose members worked independently. Of growing interest to contemporary scholars is the role of family size and sex ratio in determining economic decision, and vice ersa. Work patterns appear to have been driven by the goal of creating surplus production for markets; perhaps because of a desire for higher consumption, work patterns began to intensify throughout the eighteenth century and led to longer work days with fewer slack periods. Overall, labor relations showed no consistent evolution but remained fluid and flexible in the face of changing market demands in highly diverse environments. The authors address as well the larger questions of American development and indicate the directions that research in this expanding field might follow.